


Holiday Pictures

by Spybaby47



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:28:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28191711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spybaby47/pseuds/Spybaby47
Summary: Set During 5x09 Abu el Banat. The Bartlet Family is celebrating the White House Christmas Tree lighting by coming together as a family to have dinner for the first time in 7 years. But before they sit down to eat, Abbey and Jed's fourth and youngest daughter accidentally stumbles across an uncomfortable secret. Complete.
Relationships: Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet, Elizabeth Bartlet Westin/Doug Westin
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Holiday Pictures

**Author's Note:**

> In this fictional universe, Abbey and Jed have a much younger fourth child. The Bartlet Family and their new addition are the subject of a longer story that is set earlier in the series. I wish we could have had more Bartlet family dynamics in the show. But this came to me after watching the Liz Bartlet episodes for research. This story has been edited slightly to fit in the same universe as a longer story.
> 
> Enjoy!

4 year-old Felicity Bartlet wasn't particularly looking forward to Christmas this year. Every part of the White House was decked out for the holiday season. But it was difficult to feel jolly as she prepared to go take holiday pictures with her parents and Liz and Doug and Gus. Everything seemed so forced and the people in her family seemed anything but jolly. 

For the moment, the tiniest Bartlet daughter pushed those thoughts out of her mind and walked down the hall in search of Liz's husband, Doug. The red plaid skirt she wore swished as she moved thanks to the layers of crinoline underneath. She stopped and did a little twirl, delighted as it caught the air. When she came back around, Felicity smoothed down her super soft white sweater, the fabric of her skirt, and adjusted the red ribbon in her hair so it was perfect. 

Felicity walked up to the door of the bedroom that Liz and Doug were staying in and opened it, not thinking to knock.

Doug Westin stood with the woman she recognized as Gus' nanny pinned up against the dresser. They were kissing and he was grinding into her with his hips, his tie was undone and her blouse was open. Felicity froze, not sure what to do. Doug was kissing someone who wasn't her sister and she knew that wasn't supposed to happen. Not like this.

Doug's head turned to look and his eyes widened when he saw his 4 year-old sister-in-law standing there dressed for pictures. His eyes widened in horror. Of all the people see this....

Felicity backed up from the door. Doug sprang into action, forgetting his lover for a moment.

"Felicity," He said, grabbing for her. He caught her left wrist in his grasp, his hand closing around it like a vice just as she tried to pull her hand away. She felt a pop in her wrist followed by pain shooting up her arm.

"It's time for pictures," She said, her heart starting to beat against her ribs.

"You didn't see anything. Do you understand me?" He said in a firm voice. 

She nodded, "Yes."

"Tell me you understand."

"I understand," She whispered.

Doug released her wrist and Felicity fled down the hall, her long light brown hair flying behind her.

Felicity didn't stop running until she reached the bottom of the stairs leading up to the Residence. Adrenaline was coursing through her veins and her wrist no longer seemed to hurt as badly. She took a moment to gather herself before opening the door leading out to the portico.

The little girl walked out onto the path and then walked across into the West Wing, heading for the Mural Room. She tugged subconsciously at the sleeve of her sweater, trying to protect her wrist.

Liz, her mother, the photographer, and Gus were in the room waiting for her father.

"Hi peanut," Liz said, smiling at her sister. "Nice outfit."

Felicity returned the smile, "Thanks."

Just then her father swept into the room, "Okay, let's get this done before I get pulled out again."

Doug came in right after and everyone got into position to take pictures in front of the Mural Room tree. Felicity stood next to the tree and with her parents in an effort to stay as far away from Doug as she could. She smiled for the camera and tried to pretend that she was happy.

\---

As the day went on, it became increasingly difficult for Felicity to concentrate. Her wrist was starting to hurt again and it was starting to swell. She sat on the floor in her room attempting to get lost in the world of in a book But it hurt to hold the book so she settled for putting it on a pillow on her lap instead.

"Felicity...."

She looked up and saw her mother standing in the doorway.

"Hi mommy," She said. 

Abbey Bartlet regarded her youngest daughter with a concerned expression. She turned her trusty thermometer over in her hand, “Come here, I want to take your temperature."

"Mommy..." She whined. "I'm not sick."

Abbey walked into the room and stood in front of her, "Felicity you were pale when you came down for pictures. "Humor me, please...”

Felicity stood up and opened her mouth, but not before making a face.

Abbey put the thermometer in her mouth and Felicity closed her mouth around it, uncomfortable as the tip pressed under her tongue. She subconsciously tugged at her sleeve again. Abbey saw the motion immediately and reached for her daughter's arm. The child instinctively shrank away from her.

"Honey," she said in a gentle and calm tone even as a gnawing feeling developed in her stomach. "Let me see your arm."

Felicity hesitated and then held up her arm. Abbey moved to her other side and took her forearm in her hands, then she carefully started lifting up the sleeve. Felicity winced as Abbey pushed the fabric of her sweater away to reveal a swollen wrist that was beginning to bruise. Finger marks were evident on her skin.

Abbey took a second to compose herself before she took the thermometer out of the child’s mouth. She read it which showed Felicity's temperature was normal.

"Can you move your fingers?" She asked.

Felicity tried to move them, but the effort caused her to whimper with pain.

"Come on," She said releasing her daughter's arm. She kissed her forehead and put a protective arm around her, "Let's go down to the medical unit and get you fixed up."

As they left Felicity's room and walked down the hall, Liz appeared with Gus in her arms. He had just woken up from a nap. She frowned when she saw the grim expression on her face.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"I need to take Felicity down to the medical unit for an x-ray," She replied. "Her wrist is injured."

"Oh peanut..." Liz said frowning. "How did that happen?"

"I fell on it," She murmured.

"We'll be back. Maybe by the time we return, Ellie and Zoey will be here," Abbey said, smiling at her grandson even though all she felt was anything but happy.

\----

Jed was working in the Oval Office, trying to wrap the last of his day before the Christmas Tree Lighting. The door opened and he expected to see one of his staff come in. But he was surprised to find Abbey leading Felicity into the room.

"We need to talk," She said closing the door behind them.

"Can it wait until after the lighting?"

"No, we need to do it now," She said firmly,

Felicity walked over to the sofa and sat down on it. She stared at the floor, not looking at either of her parents.

"Okay," Jed said, standing up and coming around the desk. He exchanged glances with Abbey and felt his heart sink. Something had happened and it wasn't good.

Abbey sat on the sofa opposite of their daughter and Jed joined her, noticing the hot pink cast sticking out from under her sweater for the first time.

"What happened?" Jed asked, looking at her arm.

"Felicity's wrist is broken. She has a hairline fracture," Abbey explained. "And I think it's time to figure out how that happened," She said squeezing his hand.

"I fell on it," Felicity said. "That's all."

The tone Felicity used stopped Jed cold. He knew instinctively that she was feeding them a line. And the fact that she wouldn't make eye contact with them told him that she was afraid of something. 

"Baby, look at me," He commanded as gently as he could muster.

Felicity met his gaze. Tears were beginning to pool in her beautiful green eyes. She looked terrified. 

Jed opened his mouth to speak, but the door opened again and Zoey slipped in along with Ellie, "We made it!" She said, taking in the mood of the room a second too late.

Felicity bolted from the sofa and ran over to Ellie and Zoey. They caught her in their arms and the three of them embraced. Before either of them could say as much as hello, Felicity dissolved into tears.

"Hey," Ellie said instantly concerned. She knelt down in front of her sister. Zoey joined her a second later so they were at eye level with Felicity. "What's wrong?"

"If I tell, everyone will be mad at me," She said in between gulping breaths.

"Little one, whatever it is, it's okay," Zoey reassured her.

Felicity shook her head frantically and Ellie smiled sympathetically,  
"Fizzy, why don't you tell us what happened? How about you whisper it to us and then we'll tell mom and dad. Okay?"

Felicity hesitated and then leaned forward to tell the story.

Over on the sofa, Jed released Abbey's hand and put his head in his own hands, "Please tell me this isn't going to take a game of telephone to get through."

"Let the girls talk," Abbey told him quietly. "Someone caused that fracture, Jed. There were finger marks on Felicity's wrist."

Jed looked over at his wife, anger flashing in his eyes, "Excuse me?"

"You cannot get mad. Cannot," Abbey said firmly. "I know you want to. But you can't. Whatever happens, you need to handle it the same way you would an international incident. Got it?"

He nodded reluctantly. Another minute went by and Ellie and Zoey rose from where they knelt and walked over with Felicity. They all sat down together. Jed and Abbey both caught the unmistakable anger in their older daughter's eyes.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Felicity went to go tell Doug it was time for the holiday pictures earlier," Ellie started. "When she opened the door, she saw Doug kissing Gus's nanny."

"She caught them about to--" Zoey said making a screwing gesture with her hands outside of Felicity's eye line.

"Charming," Abbey said, shaking her head.

"He grabbed Felicity's wrist as she backed up from the door. She tried to pull away and that's how her wrist fractured," Ellie explained.

"Doug made Felicity swear that she didn't see anything. She knew if she said, it would make everyone angry."

"He also scared the hell out of her," Ellie added as she hugged her sister to her side.

"Okay," Jed said quietly after a minute. He rose from his position on the sofa and went over to his desk. Picking up the phone, he dialed an extension for the Secret Service. "I need to know where Doug Westin is right now," He said and then paused to wait for a response. "Detain him there for now, until I say otherwise."

Jed hung up the phone and turned back to find Abbey had gotten up to hug Ellie and Zoey. Felicity was sitting at the end of the sofa staring at the floor. It made his heart ache to see his stubborn, smart, and sweet little girl like this. He walked over and lifted her into his arms, hugging her tight. Under it all, Felicity was still a little girl who deserved to feel safe.

"You did the right thing," He whispered. "Even though it was hard."

\----

The TVs in the residence all showed Zoey and their father taking the stage to go light the tree. Liz was in her bedroom feeling weary after trying to convince Gus to go light the tree. She also had no idea where Doug had gotten to. But she supposed he was still in his meeting with Josh.

Abbey knocked on the bedroom door and then walked in.

"Hi mom," she said, looking over at Abbey. "Sorry about Gus. I tried to get him to go. But he just got too scared."

"It's okay," Abbey replied, waving it off. "Zoey filled in like a champ. We need to talk about Doug."

"Is this about his run?" She asked. "I really think Dad should give his endorsement."

"Liz, Doug is downstairs being detained by the Secret Service."

She frowned, "What? Why would they do that?"

"He's responsible for fracturing Felicity's wrist."

Liz opened her mouth to say something, but didn't quite know what to say, "He would never do that."

"She has finger marks on her wrist. I saw them myself and after a lot of effort, Felicity told us what happened."

"Okay, so it had to be an accident."

Abbey looked at her daughter for a long moment before speaking again, "Your sister will be in a cast for the next six weeks. She caught Doug about sleep with your nanny when she came to this room to tell him it was time for pictures."

Liz pursed her lips, "Are you coming to tell me that I need to leave him?"

"No," Abbey said evenly. "I'm not. Your marriage is your business. But you should consider him persona non grata as far as political aspirations are concerned. He won't survive having a Secret Service investigation and an affair."

"Is the investigation dad's idea or yours?"

"It's the law. Doctors are mandated reporters if they suspect child abuse. In this instance, the medical unit is required to notify the Secret Service about Felicity's injury because there's no doubt someone caused it."

"Jesus," Liz said, rubbing her hand over her face, "What am I supposed to tell the kids."

"Tell them whatever you like. But Elizabeth, I'm telling you right now to think very carefully about the man you married. He tried to make Felicity deny that she saw anything. She's afraid that he's going to hurt her again for telling. That is what bothers me about all of this. I don't want Gus or Annie to be at risk. But it's up to you to do what's best for them. Your father and I will do the same for Felicity. And we'll be here to support you if you need us."

"Okay," Liz said, moving to leave."I suppose I should go find Doug and find out what happens next."

"Or you could stay for dinner. The Secret Service will let us know when they're done. Your father, Ellie, Zoey, and Felicity should be back any minute from the tree lighting," Abbey offered.

"I love him, mom" Liz said quietly.

"I know," Abbey said simply.

"Mommy...." Came Felicity's voice from the hallway.

"In here, honey," Abbey said.

Felicity appeared in the doorway, dressed in a white, cold weather jacket still wearing her plaid skirt, white tights, and black booties from earlier in the day.

"Hi," she said uncertainly waving at Liz with her good hand.

"Hey peanut," Liz said, swallowing hard when she saw the cast her sister wore.

"Daddy says he has at least 20 minutes before the world blows up...again. So we better eat."

"I suppose we should," Abbey said with a laugh, walking towards Felicity.

Liz followed her mother out in the hall and then knelt down in front of her sister, "I'm sorry about your wrist."

Felicity nodded, "Lizzy, are you mad at me?"

Liz softened, "No, I'm not. I just wanted to say that I love you, baby sister."

"I love you too, big sister," Felicity said hugging Liz.

A few minutes later, Abbey, Liz, and Felicity joined Jed, Zoey, and Ellie at the table and for the first time in 4 years, the entire Bartlet family enjoyed a meal together.

"We should get a picture of this, for proof that it actually happened," Jed said about halfway through the meal.

"I second that," Abbey agreed.

They all eventually made their way over to the Christmas Tree in the Residence for the photo.

"Look what we made," Abbey whispered in Jed's ear as the four girls gathered around them for the photo.

"We did good," He whispered back.

The photographer had to take two photos from that difficult and flawed holiday gathering. The one Jed and Abbey chose to display in their bedroom captured the Bartlet family in a truly spontaneous moment. It caught the moment when Jed decided to lay one on Abbey with all four girls looking on smiling.

Fin


End file.
